Takeaways: Investigating fatality numbers by region
in Darfur reveals noteworthy trends. While true that by 2017 the number
of civilian killings within each of Darfur’s five regions had subsided
since their respective maximums, the number of killings in Central
Darfur was higher than its interquartile range, adding questions as to
why the UN Security Council was still determined to begin withdrawing
the mission that year.
Additionally, by 2018, killings in West, South, and Central Darfur
were near or above their respective seventy-fifth percentile values of
their interquartile ranges. Yet, the UN continued to withdraw bases. A
noticeable uptick in killings in West Darfur occurred in 2019, above the
region’s interquartile range.
By the end of 2021, once UNAMID troops had all departed, there were
already more civilian killings in West Darfur (155) than at any point
since the mission had begun in 2008. With violence levels so high in
several regions during the mission’s drawdown phase, one might have
expected the UN to withdraw its remaining bases at least more slowly to
prevent power vaccumes and spikes in violence.